Ethnic cleansing and Ethiopia

The TPLF Party (ህዝባዊ ወያነ ሓርነት ትግራይ) that is in charge of Ethiopia but that mostly parades around as EPRDF is currently on an apology mode and no resource is spared in spreading the well-rehearsed lie. They have activated former leaders from retirement. Old trusted and reliable Cadres are brought out to prove their worthiness in this time of crisis for the mafia group and bloggers and social media activists are on double time.

Their task is very easy in Ethiopia. There are no dissenting voices left to tell a different version to our people. Twenty-five years of systematic attack on the free press has decimated the independent media and made the country a TPLF echo chamber.

The regime controls TV, Radio, Internet and both mobile and landline phone service. Print paper is state controlled and the few allowed are Woyane approved supposedly ‘independent’ papers and magazines run by cadres of the party. Even Social Media is such a threat it is constantly blocked or attempts made to incite hate by Party controlled hacks.

So today Woyane is using Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, Fana Broadcasting, Zami FM, Walta, The Reporter, Awramba Times, Bloggers and many more clone outlets to tell the ‘Mamo Kilo’ story they have decided would work on our people. It is easy to see Woyane has decided to project their entire approach to politics and power onto all their opponents. The Ethiopian people are watching with complete puzzlement because the whole argument does not make sense unless one is willing to suspend reality.

Let’s go over the Ethiopian reality to be able to relate to Woyane logic. For twenty-five years the TPLF Party that created the satellite organizations under the umbrella EPRDF has been in charge of all aspects of our country. The Prime Minister has always been a Tigrai. The current one who is from the Wolaita region is considered a figurehead with no political base or power. His Deputy Debretsion; a TPLF Politburo member is the man behind the throne.

This is the reality our leaders gloss over and try to deflect our attention away from the core question our people are currently asking at the risk of being killed. The Party that controls all of our country’s vital systems based on its ethnic origin is now complaining about wrongly being perceived to be very narrow and cliquish by the rest of Ethiopia. They are also leveling the charge of ethnic cleansing act against the Amharas.

The Woyane party is playing victim for a variety of reasons. They want to justify their trigger-happy solutions since they came to power. This last year alone close to one thousand Ethiopians have been murdered by their own government. They want to claim they are the victims for being forced to kill our family member. They are trying to convince the world that their group is in jeopardy to justify their violent response all over Ethiopia.

Listening to Abay Tsehaye and Seyoum Mesfin is an out of this world experience. One is forced to ask do these clowns really believe what they are saying? They are sitting at Fana Broadcasting studio that is owned or controlled by their group and the two individuals moronic and insane opinions are being entertained as logical and rational. They are being asked questions fit for two years old and of course they have all the time to respond since it is their private media.

It has become a good exercise figuring out how the different TPLF officials and their designated cadres approach the current mess and offer solutions. It is a mix of some remorse, stern warnings, predictions of what is to come in their absence and their willingness to correct all that has gone wrong by sacrificing few individuals from their EPRDF stable. This of course ensures blame goes to the satellite organizations and heads will roll while TPLF lives another day to kill.

Abay Tsehaye is a weird character that falls asleep in his own press conference. That is what he did while sitting at his spitting brand new Studio of Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation that displays nightclub lighting designed to make the dead look cute. He blamed it all on OLF, Ginbot 7 and Shabia. He even claimed the two groups have never won in contested elections. What country he was talking about is not clear. He predicted the Oromo and Amhara organizations are bound to fight dividing the spoils after they win over TPLF. He actually described his enemies as blinded by their thirst for power and money. You understand why I said Woyane is projecting itself. Woyanes brain is incapable of understanding sacrifice to do the right thing. Woyanes philosophy is based on personal gain as the final prize. The last twenty-two years have proved both points to be true.

Seyoum Mesfin is one character we are familiar with. He is the one that came from Algiers with the fake agreement. He had no qualms lying to the Ethiopian people about something that could not stay hidden. The Ethiopian people first real encounter with the honorable Minister was during the 2005 debate where Dr. Yacob had him at his mercy. The then Foreign Minister was brought down from his perch and humiliated. The Ethiopian people saw the kind of individuals that were in charge and rejected them overwhelmingly.

This time Minister Seyoum Mesfin raised a very interesting point. He said let us look at the Military and Security where the Narrow -Tebab (OLF) and the Temketgna (PG7) have declared war on claiming they are under the Tigrai group and want to get rid of them. Notice Woyane always have to put label on individuals and organizations to make it easy for their cadres to identify. Why are the two declared ‘anti-peace’ and ‘ anti-Ethiopian’ groups united on smashing the two Woyane Organizations he asked and answered by showing puzzlement because it is in the Military and Security where all the different Ethiopians are actually given an opportunity and are participating fully.

Minster Mesfin forgot to mention that making the Military and Security all Tigrean would have been too obvious and not sustainable. Of course he forgot to mention all the top Generals and most officers are of Tigrean origin and the Public Security is the domain of TPLF with its own private jails. Now why do you think they need to diversify? Well the military needs foot soldiers as fodder and the security needs an ear in every household. He was most gracious with the internal security forces. It is understandable. It is a Gestapo style ruthless outfit that routinely kidnaps people from their homes and workplaces and some disappear forever. I am not being an alarmist but all Ethiopians know it to be a fact of life in Woyanes land.

In any free public forum both gentle men would be laughed off the stage. They do not seem to grasp the mere fact that what made it possible for them to sit there and lecture to us as if we have no intelligence, memory and common sense is solely due to the fact that their ethnic group is in charge and they can do whatever they damn well want. It is called Tigrean privilege or ‘ye zemenu sew’ by the locals. It is the reason we are condemned to listen to the two midget dinosaurs.

From their non-Tigrean enablers, apologists and cheerleaders Dr. Kassu Ilala is my favorite. He will make the late great leader proud. I am grateful to the Politburo for including him to show us how low we have sunk. A mother was forced to sit on the dead body of her son by Agazi solders and it was reported all over our independent media. Those that serve the fascist system and apologize for Woyane crimes against humanity are dancing on the dead body of thousands of our people. It is a strong charge but well deserved.

The good doctor said the days where one ethnic group dominated others is long gone. We are over it he swore with a smile on his face. He condemned the current talk of Tigrai domination as useless and not true at all. Tigreans have not received any special treatment in their Kilil; furthermore he opined the Tigreans have suffered the most under the Derg and today even send their children to die in Gambella, South Omo and Somalia. It is not clear if service in the name of the Party is the same as service for Ethiopia. The Mention of Gambella and South Omo is not a slip.

I knew he will gravitate towards a central theme and he did not disappoint us. Looks like the bosses are worried about the situation in the Military because like Seyoum Mesfin he was eager to mention the diversity of the security forces. He did not bother to tell us what happened to diversity when it comes to vital sectors of the economy. I am sure the Doctor will print a retraction after he is given the diversity figures in Ethiopian Airlines, Communications and the media and all Federal offices. Of course as the intellectual among the group he went on his ‘rent collector’ rant that Berket dismissed as nonsense. Dear Dr. Kassu the premier ‘rent seeker’ in Ethiopia is the ruling TPLF party that uses its monopoly of power to pass laws favoring the few, restricts competition, create barriers and earns income without producing anything. It all boils down to the rule of law, level playing field and fair justice.

The Woyane TPLF party is beating the drums of war against non Tigrean Ethiopians. The Mafia group is hiding behind the Tigrai people that are victims as the rest of us. The last thirty years they have been fed very hateful information regarding their own cousins. Like it or not unlike the rest of Ethiopia Tigrai is a closed society. Interaction with other Ethiopians has not been well developed. It makes evil Woyanes job easy in raising fear and doubt in the population. Until the advent of TPLF the Tigrai people have moved all over Ethiopia freely and lived in peace with others. TPLF brought this division and unhealthy competition for meager resources. Today TPLF is cornered due to the failure of its policies. It is that failure it is trying to rescue by setting our people against each other.

Ethiopians warn Woyane about this loose talk about ‘ethnic cleansing’. The rest of Ethiopians ask their Tigrean cousins to speak out against this crazy policy of creating a wedge between the Amhara and Tigrai. A few Woyane bred cadres are convinced the sky will fall without Woyane. That cannot be helped. Stupidity is no excuse for recklessness.

No matter what the policy of divide and rule is laid to rest. It is nice to see in our lifetime that the spirit of being an Ethiopian is a quality we have inherit and no amount of hate and ugly talk will find a lasting audience. As I wrote earlier Woyane is projecting. Because they hate they do not understand the meaning of love. Because they steal they they do not grasp the concept of selfless act. Because they emerged from a harsh and violent past being brutal is their preferred response to any threat real or imagined.

It is sad that Woyane leaders do not try to know us the rest of their cousins. The leadership of the organization including Meles and Abay went to the University in Addis. It is sad they did not use that opportunity to appreciate the rainbow nature of our country. Instead of building on that and making it more harmonious and beautiful they wasted over thirty years tearing it apart. Today they look at their work and I am sure they wonder what went wrong. No matter what they say officially there is no escaping the hateful stare, the fear permeating every place they are, the lack of close friend and the knowledge that it can all fall apart without notice.

We have a problem in Ethiopia. The regime is not the kind to appreciate peace. Our people today are showing what they are made of with their death defying determination to be free. The economic boycott is the latest effective tool. A government cannot survive without income. If the economic activity continues revenues will dry up. Our people have found Woyanes Achilles heel.

We in the outside have to follow their example and do our share for national salvation. Boycott of all good and products from Ethiopia is a noble idea. Remember nothing happens without Woyane getting even a penny. We should resolve to deny him even a penny. We in the outside have to find ways of forcing our Ethiopian businesses not to deal with Woyane. We have to find a way of publicizing those businesses that do not deal with Woyane. We should have a hall of fame for those that stood for Freedom and Democracy. We should get our activists to go to the Airport and take video and pictures of those standing on line at Ethiopian (Woyane) Airlines and post it on our independent websites and Facebook. This is what peaceful struggle is all about and it is taking shape in Ethiopia. Let us contribute our share and make our fighter’s job a little bit easier. Let us come up with simple effective creative ways to drive Woyane out of our life.